News

Personal finance: The trick of DIY life insurance
2015-08-26

Countdown and The Warehouse sell life insurance these days.Neither is an insurer.As with most of the stuff on their shelves, they are resellers of somebody else's wares.
But while you can ask for help in choosing a jam, or finding the Lego, you can't just ask the nice lady at the customer service counter to tell you how much life insurance you need.Unless you go to an insurance adviser (a sensible move), you have to work it out yourself.That's tricky, but not impossible.To do so, you must consider who is dependent on you, and the position you wish to leave them in should you be snatched from them by death.
Dependents: A single man with no kids probably needs...

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Auckland house buyers look south as BNZ tightens investor rule restrictions
2015-08-21

Auckland's blistering house prices could soon be exported to the cities of Hamilton, Tauranga and Whangerei, mortgage brokers fear.This week, BNZ will be the last of the big Aussie banks to introduce tough lending rules for investors which are designed to curb house price frenzy.Rivals, ASB, ANZ and Westpac have already cut back on lending to investors with less than 30 per cent deposits, or security, for properties.
 
BNZ says it will follow suit on Friday August 14.The deadline for bringing in loan to value (LVR) restrictions on investors is supposed to be October 1.But the Auckland housing market is so hot that the Reserve Bank has made no secret of its desire for...

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Six biggest life insurance mistakes Kiwis make
2015-08-19

Do you have life insurance? Unless you're single and don't care what happens to your body and debts when you die, then you probably need some and possibly quite a lot of insurance cover.
The problem is, says David Boyle, general manager of investor education at the Commission for Financial Capability: "People don't wake up and think, 'I need to buy some life insurance today'."
Life insurance is generally something that comes up because of an event, such as getting a mortgage or having children. It's very easy in those circumstances to make mistakes.
I decided to look at the six biggest life insurance mistakes Kiwis make and ask industry...

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